Movie review: Jai Ho is strictly for Salman Khan fans!

Salman Khan is back on silver screen after a gap of 13 months with Jai Ho. The king of masala entertainers this time is 'being human', for Jai Ho has a social message.

What's more, the movie has crisp editing, brisk pace and stellar performance by Salman Khan. On the downside, the film is low on freshness quotient and the plot gets repetitive after a while.

"Sohail Khan’s Jai Ho is a nobly conceived product that disintegrates into a regular Salman Khan affair a la Dabangg with high octane action and irreverent dialogues. It’s bewildering to witness all the Gandhian sermons in a masala fillum but the novelty loses itself in the repetitiveness of its plot," writes Mohar Basu, Koimoi.com.

You certainly don't watch a Salman Khan movie for logic or a powerful story, you watch it FOR Salman Khan. The film, atleast, does justice to your expectations.

"The story of Jai Ho is far too simplistic to be taken seriously. While it’s laudable that Khan plays the righteous Samaritan, he doesn’t progress beyond the help-each-other-out phase. The gory action sequences are all orchestrated to highlight Khan’s buffed-up body and there’s one too many. The climax in which Khan’s shirt rips to show a gleaming, magnificent torso might make this journey less painful," writes Manjusha Radhakrishnan, Gulf News.

It's an out-and-out Salman Khan movie. Go for it if you are a fan.

"Salman Khan is not Dabangg but he is light years better synced in the role than even Dabangg. He is earnest in his role and though there was hardly any scope for him to have fun, he is deliciously indulgent," adds Basu.

"Actually all of Salman's films are basically extensions of the superstar's own personality. Jai Ho is more so than any of his earlier films. He wants us to know he cares for the common man. The script, a revamped 'Salmanesque' take on the Telugu Chiranjeevi starrer Stalin, is designed to exhibit the superstar's philanthropic and humane side," writes IANS.

Apart from celebrating Salman's super-stardom, Jai Ho also has a memorable message.

"Jai Ho is fascinating in parts and fumbles in the rest. Salman Khan and his convincing rendering is what makes this film work for me. The most interesting thing that comes out of it is the message that it isn’t very hard being Human. Jai Ho might have overdone it but the message is memorable," says Basu.

But if are not a die-hard Salman fan, it's time for a reality check.

"There's an unmistakable sense of desperation in Jai Ho, as if the nearly 50-year-old Salman is wary of his shelf life in the industry and must do everything possible to hold on to his star power. With an army costume, yellow rimmed dark glasses and jeans, Salman’s Jai is a cousin of Chulbul Pandey injected with the nauseating germs found in Ready and Bodyguard. Daisy Shah can dance well but gives Sneha Ullal a run for her money with her lack of acting chops. The only little ray of sunlight in this black hole of boredom is the young Naman Jain who plays Jai’s nephew with a lot of spunk," writes Mihir Phadnis, Firstpost.

"Jai Ho could have been a pure and simple Dabangg 3. It’s not. It’s not even a no-holds-barred South remake either, despite its quarts of spurting blood and broken bones). Jai’s ‘aam aadmi’ ( he says the phrase, and the audience erupts, rightfully, in this age of ascendant mango people ) catches traction only a moment. In the rest, he goes back to snarling and kicking and scowling. Even the shirt-off moment is not Jai Ho’s money shot. Maybe Bhai should have gone in for a muffler around the head, instead," writes Shubhra Gupta, Indian Express.

"The aam aadmi is the flavour of the season all right, and one might argue that there is no harm in seeking to derive box office mileage out of it. But a superstar vehicle that runs on a single wheel – even if that wheel happens to be box office dynamo Salman Khan – cannot go very far. The other three wheels of Jai Ho – story, screenplay and characters – are terribly wobbly. Eminently avoidable unless you are a diehard Salman Khan fan," writes Saibal Chatterjee, NDTV.

Newcomer Daisy Shah's acting certainly doesn't help the film. In this Salman-centric movie, Tabu manages to pack a fine performance in her comeback vehicle.

"Daisy Shah isn’t exactly in her most impressive avatar," feels Basu. "Tabu of The Namesake fame plays the token elder sister who supports her brother unconditionally. She’s good but when you are watching a Salman Khan, it’s all about him. Jai Ho isn’t any different," feels Radhakrishnan.

"Debutant Daisy Shah, as expected, had very little to contribute to the film but the newbie does have a strong screen presence. She may need meaty roles in future to prove her acting credentials but looked quite good in the film," says Gayatri Sankar, Zee News.

There is a high probability that Salman Khan will deliver his sixth consecutive hit with Jai Ho after the super-success of Dabangg, Ready, Bodyguard, Ek Tha Tiger and Dabangg 2.

"On the whole, a noble, well-intentioned message narrated in an entertaining format in a Salman Khan movie, who, as we all know by now, is the much endeared hero of the masses, makes Jai Ho a sure-shot winner. In fact, it won't be wrong to state that Jai Ho easily ranks amongst Salman's better films. This one has the potential to emerge a blockbuster at the box-office," feels Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama.